A Curious Anomaly
by honhoi
Summary: A bottomless closet, some chakra, and cobblestone pathways. This isn't Konoha. Where was she? Sakura centric.
1. Through the Wardrobe

**I decided to write this because I love Attack on Titan and Sakura. I felt the two would make a great mix. Warning: This takes place after Madara basically steals the remains of the Kyuubi from Naruto's father (basically the most recent chapter of Naruto). **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Attack on Titan/Shingeki no Kyoujin. **

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Chapter One

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Explosions rang out in the background as a young medic tried in vain to revive her fallen teammate.

"Naruto!"

She sliced rib open and stuck her hand inside of his exposed torso. She did not care that she could possibly rupture his lungs, but what good was a lung if it was not providing oxygen for his body?

The hand quickly found its way to his heart, and squeezed it desperately in an attempt to mimic the contraction of a regular heartbeat. This method was much more effective than chest compression CPR, as the air breathed into the victim's lungs would be pumped throughout the body to keep them alive. She pumped his heart with her fist again.

This was an effective method of CPR, but Sakura knew the repercussions of what she was doing.

Decomposition occurs right after death, and without something to combat it, there was nothing to stop the cells of Naruto's body from decomposing due to the normal flora that thrived from his existence.

An existence that would be no more if she did not stall the effects of death on a boy—no, a _man_ whose very life was the bridge between hope and despair.

Another puff to his mouth, and Sakura, though tired, would not give up on reviving Naruto.

And she knew, within a very short time, that Naruto would begin to suffer the effects of brain damage if he did not regain consciousness soon. Cardio pulmonary resuscitation is only meant for a proxy to act as a temporary pump for a failed heart until professional help arrives or until the victim can maintain homeostasis on their own. Naruto cannot, for the Kyuubi was extracted from him forcefully, and at present Sakura was the only professional in the area. Individuals with tailed demons will lose their lives if their tailed beast is extracted from them. This, Sakura knows, which is why she is acting as his lifeline to this world so that Gaara can transport them to his father who will hopefully seal the other half of the Kyuubi in him so he will live.

However this plan is thwarted when Madara appears in all his Sage of the Six paths glory and steals the Kyuubi away before his father can even attempt to seal it into his fallen son. Sakura stares on in shock and incredulity as the powerful figure chastised his minion for being late.

Hope is lost, and Sakura realizes that Naruto will die a dog's death.

And it is this realization that she _cannot_ and _will not_ stand for.

All of which Naruto represents, all the people in far off lands who looked upon this man for support and encouragement, all the hearts of steel that were molded into hearts of compassion—and not by a fair and lovely maiden, but by a brash, loud-mouthed and ambitious ninja—would be vanquished. And this, she whispers to herself, _will not happen. Not when she is alive and kicking_.

Since day one of her training with Lady Tsunade, she knows that to give up is to accept failure.

And failure was something that Lady Tsunade could not accept. Of the all lessons the slug princess has taught Sakura, this was the one that was mercilessly and brutally beaten into her.

And so, with all of the strength she can muster, she scrapes up the remains of her chakra and summons a shadow clone. The clone, already knowing what to do, gets down to being Naruto's lifeline for this world. She turns to Kakashi and meets his eyes with her level stare and his eyes widen.

"Sakura, as your superior and sensei, I absolutely forbid you from endangering yourself."

Sakura takes out a soldier pill and pops one in her mouth, biting down angrily. As a burst of chakra floods her system, the clinical, more analytical side of her mind reminds her of the effects of the pill on an exhausted soldier. Her more daring side tells her analytical side to screw off, ready and determined to fight this offending person.

"Kakashi" Sakura began, voice grave "first and foremost I am a medic."

"I am aware." Kakashi sent her a sardonic look.

"However, at this point in time, dearest _sensei_" she enunciated slowly "I am useless. There is nothing I can do to revive Naruto besides continuous CPR. But even that will not save his brain from the effects of death. There is only so much oxygen one can breathe into a person, but it is not as plentiful as the volumes they breathe when they are self-sufficient." She paused, realizing she was rambling. "There is one method we could try." Her eyes fell on Naruto's father. His eyes matched Sakura's own in ferocity and for a moment she almost believed that this man was Naruto. He looked down at his son solemnly. Kakashi sighed.

"I see." Minato Namikaze placed a hand on his son's chest and smiled ruefully to himself. The hand that was touching Naruto's chest began to glow and everyone watched as the eyes of the living corpse that was Naruto's father began to droop.

Sakura directed her attention to Madara.

One thing was certain.

"Will you join me, Kakashi?" She tossed him a soldier pill. He pulled down his mask and caught it with his mouth, giving Sakura a playful wink.

And she believed that this was an argument that Kakashi could not even argue with.

"Why, I'd be honored to."

They were not going to win.

Kakashi flashed out of sight, a kunai headed for Madara from the place he was just residing in. Sakura flashed into battle after him, throwing her own kunai with an attached paper bomb for effect. Madara dodged both attacks easily and landed some place far from either of them, careful not to be in the vicinity of the bomb.

Not when their saving grace was down for the count.

Kakashi charged at Madara again, this time Sakura in tow as he attempted to land a blow on him. Withdrawing three kunai and two shuriken, each laden with a paper bomb, she threw them at Madara who deflected them easily. They landed all about him as he flew backwards.

And he will be down permanently if she and Kakashi did not stall this man who wished to project his views of an ideal world through power only stories could fabricate.

"Surely this is not the extent of your repertoire?" Gauded the sage. Kakashi and Sakura crouched in defensive positions. Kakashi nodded to her and Sakura grunted as she ran towards Madara while keeping her distance from him. She ran around him and at the same time throwing kunai at his person while Kakashi stood, focusing on his next move. Again, Madara deflected the attacks. Bringing two fingers to her lips, she whispered "Kai" detonating each paper bomb-attached kunai around Madara. Shrapnel flew as Kakashi lifted his headband and yelled "Samui!" as a powerful vacuum appeared on his face, attempting to suck Madara in while catching the debris cause by the explosion. As quickly as Kakashi's attack had appeared, it vanished. When all the smoke caused by the explosion disappeared, a perfectly unscathed Madara stood before them, looking unimpressed.

They weren't going to win.

Sakura looked on towards Madara, but never caught his eye. She unconsciously tightened her leather gloves and summoned chakra to her hands.

This, they knew.

The ground erupted in large slabs of earth as the medic punched the ground with her chakra laden fist. Madara stood still as earth and debris fell about him, still unimpressed.

So Sakura really shouldn't have been surprised when she unveiled a sealing technique taught to her by Lady Chiyo did not restrain Madara in the way that she had hoped. Under normal circumstances, the seal would have incapacitated the opponent, giving her free reign over what their fate would be.

But these were not normal circumstances.

Neither was Madara a normal man.

Because a man who wielded all of the power in the world could not possibly be felled by some measly kunoichi with no special talent or ultimate attack to her name.

And when Madara decided that he was bored with their antics, he began to toy with them.

Her heart sunk all the way into her stomach as the gravity of the situation set in.

_You fool._ The analytical side of her mind screamed. _Did you really think that you could pull a Naruto? Did you _think _that you could summon an untapped power deep within your soul that would save the day? _Madara was returning the favor now, steadily fighting Sakura and Kakashi with all of the leisure he could muster. The two could only play defense as the powerful man increased the momentum and force of his attacks.

_We will die before Naruto becomes Hokage. _

This thought deeply saddened Sakura. She hardened her resolve and quickly ran through the options they had left—which were slim to none. Sakura relayed a message in her mind to her clone tending to Naruto and instructed her on what to do.

The clone bit her thumb and pulled out the necklace Lady Tsunade gave to Naruto to control the Kyuubi. She ran her thumb along the main crystal of the necklace and the three people disappeared in a puff of smoke.

At least they were safe now.

Madara's relentless attacks rained down on Sakura and Kakashi. He landed a particularly nasty blow which threw Kakashi several meters backwards. Sakura watched Kakashi out of the corner of her eye as he struggled to lift himself off of the ground. She watched her opponent carefully before charging at him and being struck by a fist to her face. Sakura flew further than Kakashi and landed with a nasty crunch. She looked up; eyes blurry as Madara made her world go black.

…

When she awoke, memories from her shadow clone flooded her mind. Naruto's condition was stabilized but at the expense of his father's life. They were also in a temporarily secret location until Naruto can reawaken. This relieved Sakura only a little bit, for at the forefront of her issues was the situation she was in currently.

As she observed her surroundings, she realized that she was back in Konoha; a war-torn and desolate Konoha. Hands bound behind her back, she sat up groggily. Where was she anyways? She smothered her breathing and heartbeat to get a feel for her surroundings. There was a shattered window, a battered down door, a table, and some chairs strewn about the room she was in. _This place seems very familiar…_

She realized that this was an old daycare center that was not far from her house. That meant that there was an underground tunnel that led to her home. In fact, there was a tunnel that ran underneath Konoha that led to the Hokage Mountains should Konoha ever need to evacuate a large number of civilians quickly. However, when the tunnel was nearing completion, the council shot down the project, saying that its purpose was moot because the shinobi that would attack the village were not stupid, and an underground tunnel would be their chance to fell the village in one swoop. She could only hope that Madara had not found out about failed project.

Not to mention that traversing the thing would be unsafe to begin with.

But what choice did she have?

Luckily her legs were not bound, however she could not kick and destroy the walls or else she would attract attention to herself. Standing up, she wobbled before gaining her balance and with careful movements she dislocated her hands to slip off the wrist bindings. Afterwards she relocated her wrists and healed any internal damage. She walked towards a back door that lead into an alleyway near her house.

Closing the door quietly and staying low and quiet, she ran towards the back door of her home.

"Hey! Where did she go?" Sakura could hear some angry voices not far behind her. Quickening her movements, she broke into her home and closed the door behind her, careful not to make any noise.

She heard footsteps trudge past the door on the way to the other side of the neighborhood. Sakura gauged her options.

Assuming that the guys that just ran past the door were her captors, then if their handiwork is anything to go by they are amateurs at best. She gave them at least ten minutes before they went around breaking down doors of abandoned homes around the place before they found her. She hoped to be long gone by then. Sakura hurried up the stairs and walked into her room and grabbed a bag she usually took with her on missions and stuffed them full with summoning scrolls that contained important possession of hers. Any other items she needed were quickly loaded and sealed away. Floor boards creaked slightly as she hurried about her house collecting her items. She checked the clock hanging on the wall for the time.

She could hear doors being broken down and glass shattering about two houses away from her.

Seven minutes.

Sakura walked down the upstairs hallway of her house that had a closet at the end of the hall. Opening the door, she checked for anything she could seal away and found nothing, though when she made to close the closet door something familiar caught her eye.

She picked the item up and ran her fingers over the surface lightly. It was a story book her grandmother bought for her when she was younger. It told the tales of a far off land where ninjas did not exist and there were a variety of people.

Three minutes.

Sakura closed the book and made to close the closet door, when there was a resounding crash in the downstairs of her home. "Hey!" The kidnappers caught a glimpse of Sakura's pink hair before a loud boom sounded outside that shook everything off-kilter. The disturbance launched Sakura forward into her closet, locking the door behind her. She could hear muffled voices behind her, but the voices were fading away the more she tried to concentrate on them.

Sakura didn't realize that her closet was this _deep_.

But it wasn't.

Sakura was falling in a closet that was not supposed to have any kind of depth to it.

She found herself hitting the ground with a thud, groaning. Sakura lit her hand up with her chakra, illuminating the mysterious room. There was another door. She flattened herself up against the door and listened intently for any intruding chakra signatures, but there were none. Turning the door knob, Sakura opened the door to reveal an antique warehouse. In the front of the warehouse there was a large window that gave her a glimpse of the outside. It was a bright sunny day and there were civilians in the streets.

What had happened? Where was Madara? "_This is not Konoha_" she breathed. Sakura walked to the front of the warehouse and pulled the door. She stepped out onto cobblestone path and gazed about her expectantly. She clutched her mission bag closer to her person.

_Where am I_?


	2. Unreasonable

_**I do not own Attack on Titan/Shingeki no Kyoujin/Naruto or the characters. **_

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_**Chapter Two**_

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Sakura walked back inside the antique warehouse towards the closet in the back. She opened the door and ran forward but was only met with a solid wall and a bruise.

"Ow…" she mumbled as she rubbed her bruised forehead.

_Shit. How am I going to get back to Naruto and the others?_

"Hey, the Scouting Legion is back!"

Sakura could hear shouting from a group of people nearby in a language she could not understand.

"I hope their mission outside of the walls was a success…"  
"Yeah, me too. They can't go outside of the walls to do nothing! My taxes pay for those expeditions…"

She walked towards the source of the noise and commotion. Sakura came across a path that turned into dirt as she approached an open area where there was a plethora of fruit stands and other shops for consumer goods. There were people lined up on both sides of this area, and as she looked to her right, she could see a band of people marching forward in slow precision donned in green capes with wings as a an emblem on the back. Some were riding horses, others were walking on foot. Sakura also noticed wooden carts full of a bulky material covered by a grey tarp.

The talking quieted down as the group of people dubbed the 'Scouting Legion' neared the area she was standing with the group of people. A thin, haggard old lady with gray hair tied up in a ponytail ran out in front of the people and they stopped.

"M-my son, Brown…where is he?" she said as she dropped to her knees and clutched a man in the front of the group. The man she was clutching too for dear life paled considerably and directed his gaze to another who looked even worse. Sakura tried as best as she could to understand what these people were saying, however her attempts were futile. She settled for reading the body language of these people as the situation unfolded.

"H-hey…" he began shakily "This is Brown's mom…"

The blond one nodded to a man in the back of the group near the cart, and retrieved an item wrapped heavily in cloth. The item was given to the woman and as she revealed the item, Sakura blanched and the woman stumbled backwards in horror.

She clutched the arm of her deceased son to her chest as she begged to know the usefulness of her son in the expedition. "At least he was helpful, right? Nothing outstanding or extraordinary, just to know that he served his purpose for mankind is enough…!"

He fell to his knees and gazed at the woman with a ghastly expression on his face. He proceeded to yell and admit to the woman that nothing they were doing was successful; that these strange beings—_titans _as he called them—would continue to decimate mankind in droves and the dwindling numbers they've entered the city with—including her son's—were all deaths that happened in vain.

Still, she could not understand what they were saying. However, Sakura didn't need a hint to know what else was lying in that wooden cart covered with a tarp.

"Mikasa! What are you doing?" Sakura's attention was diverted away from the scene before her. She recognized that name. It sounded like it originated from her native tongue.

"Ow! Stop it Mikasa!" Sakura followed the voices she heard until she could see what was happening from the shadows of a building nearby. She saw two young children—a girl with black hair and a large scarf who was beating another kid, a boy, with dark hair and green eyes. The girl had wood strapped to her back, while the boy's wood was scatted about on the ground.

"You want to join the Survey Corps don't you, Eren?"

"Yeah, so what?"

"I won't allow it."

"Whatever just help me pick up this firewood." Sakura watched as they collected to wood and walked off.

_Maybe they can tell me where I am. _

She followed the two children all the way back to the small house that they lived in.

The boy, named Eren, opened the front door and called "Mom! Mikasa and I are home!" as he closed the door after Mikasa. Sakura walked up to the house and pressed her ear against it, stilling all movement so she could hear what was going on.

"…go outside the walls!"

"…mad…Grisha…your son!"

_I need to make an attempt to talk to these people to understand what they are saying. _

Sakura walked up to their front door, knocked, and waited for an answer. When nobody came immediately, she turned to leave when the door opened slightly. It was Eren.

"Who are you?" He questioned, looking up at Sakura with distrusting eyes. She could not respond. The door opened even more when another person came into the picture. This man wore glasses and had a moustache above his upper lip. He gave Sakura a warm smile, though his eyes were curious as well. Sakura hesitated before answering.

"My name is Sakura Haruno. I do not understand the machinations of this world but I am ready and willing to learn!" She finished her sentence by bowing deeply. Eren looked at Sakura with disgust and confusion.

"Dad, I can't understand her."

Eren's father looked surprised as he studied Sakura's form. Mikasa joined Eren at the door after hearing Sakura speak.

After what felt like an eternity, he spoke to Sakura.

"What is your name?" She looked puzzled. Eren's father pointed to himself.

"Grisha."

Then he pointed to Mikasa then Eren.

"Mikasa, Eren."

Sakura pointed to herself and enunciated slowly.

"Sakura."

Mikasa's eyes widened in recognition as she heard Sakura's name.

"Dad" she began, gaining his attention "I remember mom used to teach me things about what her culture was like…she told me that Sakura was an important symbol in her family. It means 'cherry blossom'." Grisha listened to Mikasa talk as he watched Sakura thoughtfully.

"If that is so dear Mikasa, it seems that you are not the last survivor of the Orient in this world."


	3. Watch

"I have a few manuscripts for you, Sakura."

Sakura was a paper ninja.

"They aren't much...Mikasa's mother tried to teach her words and sayings of the Orient with these."

This, she accepted whole-heartedly.

She knew this immediately when her test scores at the Academy were higher than the class average. Higher than even Sasuke's. But when it came to live combat, she knew she was doomed.

No amount of paper smarts could make up for her lacking taijutsu and genjustsu.

So to make up for this, she studied.

She became a med-nin.

Accepted the fact that the few advantages she had over her classmates were her quick thinking, paper smarts, and perfect chakra control.

So she really should not have been surprised when Grisha Jäger left to retrieve some books for her to study from.

"I will leave Sakura in your care, honey. See you soon."

Sakura prided herself on being able to read situations and reacting accordingly. Unlike Naruto, she did not have an unlimited supply of chakra at her disposal. She could not woo thousands with a smile and a silly catchphrase. And unlike Naruto, she did not find herself very approachable. She did not love strangers who owed nothing to him from the bottom of her heart. Any time she was wronged she was more than happy to exact revenge with her fists.

"Eren! Get back here!"

And if the battle she just witnessed was any indication, she recognized that she did not belong on the front lines as a tank. Her role was in the back; planning and plotting the next method of operation that will lead to success. She has seen more tragic deaths, seen more tragedy than she would have been comfortable with, and experienced more failures than she would like to admit in her line of work. But at least she was useful. It is because of her line of work that she never returns home with the pang of uselessness on a team of powerhouses. She had made her own little niche in the village, and she was happy.

"Mikasa, please watch over Eren for me."

"Okay."

However, she was suddenly thrust into this world by her own carelessness (_dear Kami she was so stupid, what kind of a shinobi_was _she?_) and currently had no way of returning.

So she really should not have been surprised when an ominous, skinless presence kicked in the large, encompassing wall in the distance.

"Please, take Mikasa and Eren to safety!"

Sakura nodded at the woman—somehow understanding but not really understanding the message—and extended her senses to locate Eren and Mikasa. She found them not far from their position and lept away onto a nearby rooftop, startling Eren's mother unintentionally.

Sakura hopped over buildings, and found Mikasa and Eren running towards their home. Sakura landed behind them and scooped them up into her arms and started running in the other direction. She could not keep running in this direction for the young boy in her arms kept assaulting her head-trying to break free. Sakura let Mikasa down gently while dropping Eren on his ass, pinning him with her glare. Eren spat at Sakura and ran towards his home with Mikasa in tow. Sakura chased after them and slowed to a halt as they arrived right when Eren's mother was devoured by a grotesque looking humanoid giant. The woman's blood rained down on all three faces—Mikasa and Eren's faces were seized with horror and Sakura became a sickly green.

A man with large clunky machines on his legs landed in front of them, and scooped Mikasa and Eren up. He gave Sakura an once-over and departed from her, shouting "If you want to live, follow behind me as close as you can!" Sakura watched in amazement as the man aimed two swords at buildings parallel to him, shot black cords from them, and pushed himself forward using gas that came from an open valve behind him. She turned back to the grotesque-looking titan, only to see it pick up a large chunk of asphalt to throw at the retreating trio. Sakura sprinted in front of the falling object, halted its momentum with both of her hands, and with chakra threw it right back at the titan, hitting it in the face full force with enough time for her to catch up with the retreating figures.

By the time she caught up to the three, she found herself standing amongst a huge crowd of people by a harbor. She watched as the blond man that carried Mikasa and Eren load them onto a ferry, and was soon after pushing her on.

Sakura turned to look at the city in heartbreak and anger; giant figures walked around haphazardly, eating people and destroying buildings. She wanted to stay and help—but she could not. To unleash the full capacity of her combat abilities required her to be in top condition, yet she was still recovering from her fight with Madara. She could feel that those giant beings were not normal, however they had no special abilities going for them other than their brute force (due to their enlarged features) and colossal size (with respect to the average person there). Taking them out would be easy, but as it was right now she had no other observable information about the beings.

Her insides lurched as the ferry slowly moved down the river, watching as adults who were left behind call out to their children that surrounded her with ghastly expressions on their faces. No doubt they would be mentally scarred when they grew up. Sakura was used to this. However, she could not help but shed tears for the children on the ferry, and those tears only intensified at the looks on the faces of Mikasa and Eren. She bent down and hugged them close, watching as the burning town gradually faded in the distance.

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After much deliberating, lamenting, and regret I've decided that my last chapter 3 was shit and made no sense. So I decided to change it. Thanks for listening.

I do not own Attack on Titan, or Naruto.


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